The Yemeni Minister of Planning and Development, Ahmed Sofan, recently stated that the government is presently preparing the final studies regarding the opening of the Yemen securities market.

The studies, prepared by treasury and banking sector specialists, focus on institutional, judicial and legal aspects of the project, according to Al-Hayat daily. The reports will be forwarded to the government for further assessment upon their completion.

Plans to establish the exchange dates as far back as 1997, when the governor of Yemen’s Central Bank, Ahmed Abdel Rahman Al Semway, confirmed that Yemen was preparing the necessary procedures as part of its economic reform program.

Discussions between various Arab stock markets and the Arab Monetary Fund are helping Yemen in establishing its local stock exchange.

The issuance of treasury bonds, which started in 1995, was the first step in establishing the bourse as it enabled Yemen to raise the necessary capital to cover the budget deficit while keeping the inflation rate from rising. –(MENA Report)